The Stories We Could Tell
by Buzzkill15
Summary: Reid meets Lacey, a girl who works in the bookshop. The two agree to swap books of their favourite author after both accuse the other of having a bad literature taste. Reid/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer - I own nothing.**

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The Stories We Could Tell

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The small bell chimed from above the door as Dr Reid entered the bookshop on the corner of the street. It was Friday afternoon, he had finished work and the bookshop was empty, quiet, just the way Reid liked it. He pushed his glasses further up his nose and moved over to the shelves at the back wall. Not many people entered this shop; it was old-fashioned and had yet to circum to the modern day influences. Many of the books were second hand or very old giving off the feel of an antiques store rather than a book shop. Reid crouched down to reach a book on the bottom shelf when music suddenly sounded throughout the shop. Reid stood up quickly and looked around; he recognised the music as a Beatles song, but couldn't place it until a loud slightly out of tune voice accompanied the soft tune.

"And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me. Speaking words of wisdom let it be. Let it …"

"Hello?" Reid called out, apparently startling the singer as there was a small screech. There was a scuffle and then the music suddenly shut off, silence engulfed the store once more. Reid craned his neck as he slowly made his way down the tight aisle, trying to fine the owner of the voice. He got to the end of the aisle just in time to see someone drop beneath the cover of the counter, seeing only a flash of blonde hair.

"Hello?" Reid repeated, trying to catch the person's attention. He watched as the person behind the counter slowly stood up, revealing themself to him.

"Hi," Reid blinked, surprised, as the petit blonde awkwardly answered him. "I, um, yeah so about the singing…" The blonde girl started.

"I, I didn't mean to scare you." Reid stated, tugging gently on the strap of his shoulder bag.

"You didn't!" The blonde quickly assured him, making Reid jumped a bit at her boldness. "I just, um, wasn't aware I had an audience."

Reid shuffled on the spot a bit, not sure what to say to the girl. She was probably about the same age as himself, or younger.

"Well this is awkward, isn't it?" The blonde asked, trying to kill the silence in the room.

"Yeah." Reid answered, effectively, but accidently killing the conversation. "Sorry, I'm just," Reid started but left the sentence unfinished. "I'm Spencer." He said, waving at the girl.

"Lacey." The girl smiled back. Reid swallowed nervously. He was never this forward and had no idea what to do next. Reid took a step back about to turn and leave but he felt his leg nudge something. He turned and watched in horror as a waist high pile of books toppled and tumbled to the floor.

"Sorry, I'm so sorry." Reid stuttered as he bent down and started picking up the books, joined quickly by Lacey.

"It's alright," Lacey said crouching next to him and started stacking books. She tucked a strand of long flowing hair behind her ear and reached for a book as Reid gripped the spine. Their hands brushed and both pulled back awkwardly looking at each other.

"Sorry." Reid started again, but Lacey cut him off.

"Wow, Lady and the Tramp moment huh?" She said, recovering and grabbing another book off the floor.

"What?" Reid asked pausing confused.

"Lady and the … you have seen Lady and the Tramp right?" Lacey asked leaning back on her heels, looking Spencer directly in the face.

"Is it a movie?" Reid asked, still confused.

"Only the best Disney movie out there." Lacey confirmed, handing Reid her stack of books so he could stack them back up on the left. She stood up and brushed her hands on her jeans. Reid placed the books back on top of each other and rose back to his full height towering over her small frame.

"I'm not really one for movies." Reid answered tugging his shoulder bag back up into place.

"More of a book guy huh?" Lacey asked moving back towards the counter.

"Yes." Spencer answered.

"Dickens or Steinbeck?" Lacey asked suddenly.

"Dickens." Reid answered after a long pause, making Lacey groan.

"What's wrong with Dickens?" Reid asked, sounding almost insulted by the groan.

"Nothing," Lacey answer, "Well it's just that he's a bit hard to understand ... and boring."

"They're classics!" Reid shot back. "Steinbeck has nothing on Dickens."

"At least they're understandable."

"Steinbeck killed Lennie off so quickly in 'Of Mice and Men' that it ultimately hurts the novel in an obvious fashion." Reid argued.

"Yeah well, at least there was some lightness to Steinbeck's writings. Half of Dickens novels were set in graveyards!" Lacey shot back, before laughing.

"What?" Reid asked slightly confused again.

"This is so weird, I'm arguing with a total stranger about writers." Lacey explained.

"I'm not a total stranger, you know my name." Reid pointed out, then blushed as he realise how bold he was being. He was surprised when Lacey laughed.

"Fair point, how about we swap? I'll read a Dickens book you pick and you read a Steinbeck book I pick?" Lacey asked. Reid was unsure, he had read all of Steinbeck's books before and could recite them by memory but there was something about Lacey that just made him want to do it.

"Okay." Reid agreed, "How about you read, 'The Chimes'?"

"Only if you read 'East of Eden'" Lacey replied, moving quickly behind the counter and pulled a book from a bag, handed it over to Reid. She turned on her heel and disappeared into the cluttered aisle, vanishing from sight. Reid stared after her only to be interrupted by his phone ringing.

"Reid." He answered professionally but slightly absent-mindedly, trying to work out where Lacey was.

"Hey Spence, we've got a case." JJ said through the phone, Reid could almost hear the disappointed sigh in her tone, he knew she wanted to spend the weekend with Henry and Will.

"I'll be there in 10." Reid answered, hanging up.

"Leaving so soon?" Reid spun around to see Lacey standing behind him.

"Yeah, um, work." Spencer answered lamely.

"Well, how about we get coffee when you're free?" Lacey asked, blushing, before looking at the ground.

"I'll be gone a few days." Spencer answered, shifting his bag again.

"Well I can read the book in that time and then, when you're free we can meet up and you can tell me all about how wrong you were." Lacey joked, running one hand through her hair.

Reid smiled, "Sure, how much for the book?"

"Free of charge. It's one of mine. You can borrow it for now." Lacey said, making Reid smile.

"Thank you." Reid answered slipping the book into his bag. "It was nice meeting you Lacey." He smiled at her and turned to leave.

"See you soon?" Lacey asked nervously, "I work here every weekday."

"Yeah, I'll see you when I get back." Reid confirmed.

"Nice to meet you Spencer." Lacey called as he exited the shop, getting a small wave from him in return.

Spencer found himself grinning despite himself as he crossed the road heading back to the Bureau, but he had no idea why.

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**Review and let me know what you think. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**** - i own nothing, apart from Lacey. Thank you so much for the reviews, keep it up and let me know what you think.**

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The Stories We Could Tell

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Reid slipped his shoulder bag over his head and dropped into his seat. The case was only a short one, but unfortunate. A young man felt betrayed by the justice system, which wrongly convicted his father. Five members of the jury had been killed before they caught him. Morgan dropped into the seat across from him, pulling out his iPod for the journey. Following his example Reid reached into his bag to find a book, but the book he pulled out wasn't the one he expected.

'East of Eden' fell open at a random page, the spine damaged beyond repair. Reid smiled, even in its tattered state he could tell the book was well loved. He flipped to the front cover and found 'Lacey Thompson' scrawled on the first page in pencil. He realised as he read that Lacey had added notes to the side of the page in pencil, some of them added great thought to the story, but others had absolutely nothing to do with the book at all it made him laugh. Many of them were to do with shopping reminders or reminders to do laundry. His quiet laugh made JJ look up.

"'East of Eden', I didn't realise it was a comedy." JJ said making Reid look up to where she was sitting across from him.

"It relates incredibly closely to the tale of Cain and Abel. It's about money, love and loss." Reid replied smiling at another note _'Crops; key ingredient to bread. I'm out of bread, remember to get bread.' _

"So what's so funny?" JJ asked.

"Some of the notes she's made, they just so, so, random." Reid answered for lack of a better word, smiling again at the book.

"She?" JJ asked smiling at Reid's confession. Reid looked up slightly nervously at JJ before glancing at Morgan who was still listening to his music oblivious to the conversation. Reid knew if Morgan found out he would never stop cracking jokes.

"It'll stay between us." JJ persuaded - interested in this girl that had managed to make Reid laugh.

"She's called Lacey." Reid said glancing at Morgan again.

"Where did you meet her?" JJ asked; egging him on, smiling at the man she considered a brother.

"The bookshop by Tina's Café, she works there every weekday." Reid answered smiling again at the book. "I'm reading this and she's reading _'The Chimes'." _

"So, have you got a date?" JJ asked, slightly surprised that Reid had actually talked to a girl outside of work.

"We're meeting for coffee when I get back, does that count?" Reid asked, not sure if he would consider it a date.

"Yes that counts." JJ squealed.

"What counts?" Morgan asked pulling his headphones down, looking at his two friends curiously.

"Nothing of great importance," JJ shot at Morgan, who raised his hands in surrender and pulled his headphones back on.

"I don't think she sees me like that, JJ" Reid confided, Lacey wouldn't want to date a guy who was always flying across the country at a moment's notice for day at a time.

"Maybe she does, you won't know unless you give her a chance." JJ said, smiling at Reid, sometimes for a genius he was pretty silly.

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Reid ducked into the small bookshop again. They had arrived back at Monday but it had been too late to stop by the shop so Reid had decided to call in on Tuesday before work.

"NAA NA NAAAA NANANANAAAAAA, NANANANAAAAA, Hey Jude!"

Reid smiled as another Beatles song assaulted his ears, He could tell be her voice that Lacey was in the shop and most likely alone, judging by the volume of the music.

"Hello?" Reid called over the music, as he rounded the corner. He ducked just in time as a book flew towards his head. He quickly flattened himself against the nearest shelf, making it shake.

"Oh my God! I am so sorry!" Reid peered round the corner to see Lacey turning off the music. "I panicked and oh, hey Spencer."

"Hey Lacey." Reid greeted, coming out from behind the bookshelf looking over his shoulder to where the book lay pitifully on the ground.

"We need to stop meeting like this, in fact, better yet, you need to stop coming in when I'm singing." Lacey said as she moved back behind the counter.

"Um, okay?" Reid agreed as he moved closer to the front desk, still not sure what to say.

"Have you heard of David Rosie?" Lacey asked as she pulled some books out of a large dusty box.

"David Rossi?" Reid asked,

"Yeah that's the fella." Lacey said dumping three books in front of him. "Someone handed them in and I don't know if they're any good."

"You could try reading them," Spencer said, pulling one off the counter and flipping it over to read the back. "But they are pretty good."

"How good? On a scale of one to Steinbeck, Steinbeck being the best?" Lacey said laughing as Reid pulled a face.

"They're about a seven or an eight, but that could be consider an insult if we're using Steinbeck as a reference to good." Reid said dropping the book back down on the counter.

"Still not digging Steinbeck huh?" Lacey asked as she pulled other books out of the box on the counter.

"He's alright, but"

"Wait! Hold the telephone." Lacey interrupted, making Spencer jump in surprise. "We said we'd do this over coffee, I don't see coffee. Do you?"

"No?" Reid asked slightly amused by Lacey's antics.

"Okay, so when are you free?" Lacey asked, leaning heavily on the counter.

"I finish work at about seven today, how about I meet you here?" Reid asked nervously, suddenly aware that it had become very hot inside the shop.

"That's perfect," Lacey said smiling at Reid. "I'll be here; I mean of course I'll be here. But, I see you. Here" she gushed.

"Good, great, um. See you later?" Reid asked as he turned to leave.

"I'll be here, as we established." Lacey confirmed smiling at Reid.

"Okay." Reid said smiling as he left, pausing to pick up the thrown book as set it on top of a pile.

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"So?" JJ asked as Reid entered the empty bullpen.

"She threw a book at me," Reid said.

"Oh, I'm sorry Spence." JJ said, disappointed that it hadn't worked out.

"What for? I'm meeting her for coffee later." Reid said confused.

"What? But you just said," JJ started before sighing and shaking her head. "Only you Spence." She called over her shoulder as she left towards her office.

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**There we go :) Review and let me know what you think. Next chapter we find out a little more about Lacey.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer - i dont anything, but Lacey is all mine. mahahahaha. thank you soo so so much for all the reviews. it makes me want to skip my homework and write some more. _Don't tell my Chemistry teacher _**

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The Stories We Could Tell

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Reid tossed the file on top of his small pile before reaching for the next one. He looked up at the pile and realised it had slowly been growing instead of decreasing like a normal pile should. He glanced around the bull pen to see everyone else working on their drastically smaller piles. Usually he didn't really mind doing other people's paperwork. He found it quite relaxing but if he wanted to get out of here before seven, he was going to need to give the team their paperwork back. He started sieving through the paper work singling out Morgan and Emily's files, putting them in a separate pile before continuing with his.

"Finished!" Morgan announced throwing his pen down on the desk about two hours later. Reid smiled and grabbed the three files he had sitting on his desk that belong to Morgan.

"Good, here are the rest of them." Reid said, as he walked over and sat them on the edge of Morgan's desk.

"What?" Morgan moaned making Emily laugh at his expense, Reid smiled nervously at Morgan before heading back to his desk. Reid grabbed the two files Emily had left on his desk and dropped them on top of Emily's closed file in front of her.

"Oh come on!" Emily moaned, realising she should have kept her mouth shut. Morgan began laughing at Emily.

"That, right there, is Karma." He called before flipping open the next file on his desk.

"Reid, help me out, I've got a date tonight. Please?" Emily begged looking at the two files in disgust.

"And I don't?" Reid asked looking at his watch, 6:30. Time to go. He stood up and grabbed his completed files.

"Wait, you've got a date?" Morgan asked looking up in shock. He glanced at Emily who looked as bewildered as him.

"Maybe, maybe not." Reid answered cryptically dumping the files into his outbox and grabbing his bag. "See you guys tomorrow."

"Are you serious?" Morgan called after him getting a small wave from the departing doctor.

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Reid tugged at his tie as he walked down the street; he was suddenly thinking that maybe this wasn't such a good idea any more. He walked around the corner as saw the bookshop, the lights were out and the shutters were being wound down; hiding the windows from sight. He smiled as he say Lacey: her thin jacket open revealing her grey cardigan that match her knitted hat; which was sitting perfectly on top of her golden hair.

"Hey" Reid called, making Lacey spin around; Reid quickly raised his hands in surrender.

"I'm unarmed." Lacey joked as she realised it was Spencer. "No books for me to throw."

"Aren't I fortunate," Spencer quipped, moving to stand beside next to her as she crouched and locked the shutter; pulling on the padlock to make sure it was secure.

"Where to?" Lacey asked jumping up, wiping her hands on her jeans.

"There's a coffee shop around the corner?" Reid asked still disbelieving she'd want to go for coffee with him.

"Sounds good. Let's go." Lacey said, walking next to Spencer on the sidewalk. Reid led the two of them into the small coffee shop and stopped at the counter so Lacey could see the Menu board.

"What do you fancy?" Spencer asked pulling his wallet out of his back pocket.

"Wait, I almost took your head off with a deadly weapon. I'm buying" Lacey insisted, grabbing his hand. Reid blushed slightly at the contact but remained determined.

"Since when is a book a deadly weapon?" Spencer asked. Watching as she fished around in her pocket and pulled out a crumpled twenty dollar bill.

"Have you ever had a paper cut? I get like, ten daily. One cut to the neck and you could be gushing like a waterfall." Lacey said making Spencer laugh.

"The chances of that happening are so miniscule; you'd have to be a very skilled marksman to manage to hit the right artery at the right angle and speed to get a 'waterfall'." Reid said, swiping the twenty dollars from her hand while she was distracted. "You can get this back once I've bought the coffees."

"Hey!" Lacey cried, annoyed that Spencer had managed to distract her. "You put way to much thought into that." She groaned and then sighed in defeat. "I'll have a black coffee, tiny bit of milk." She said not even bothering to look at the board, making Reid seemed confused. "What its coffee, not a cocktail."

Reid laughed and approached the counter; he had been expecting her to ask for a coffee with a swirl of vanilla or something similar.

"Two black coffees please; one with milk, one with sugar." Reid asked the girl behind the counter politely.

"Tiny amount of milk," Lacey called from behind Reid, making the girl laugh.

Reid paid for the two coffees and followed Lacey to some comfy seats by the window. The two sat in silence until the girl came over with the coffees.

"What's wrong with Steinbeck?" Lacey pounced as soon as the coffee was placed on the table. Apparently she was taking the over coffee think seriously.

The two talked for a while about the flaws of the books and what they liked about them. Soon the conversation turned onto work.

"So do you own the shop?" Spencer asked, surprised when Lacey laughed.

"Who me? No. I just work there." Lacey admitted, sipping her coffee. "Maybe one day I'll own the place but just now I'm quite content. How about you, what do you do?" Lacey asked sitting her coffee down on the table.

"I work at the F.B.I." Spencer admitted sheepishly thinking she wouldn't believe him.

"No way!" Lacey said, sitting upright in her chair, smiling at Reid. "That's so cool."

"You think so?" Spencer said amused by her reaction.

"Yeah, it's like _Über_ cool." Lacey said smiling at Spencer.

"_Ü_ber isn't that,"

"German, yeah but it sounds cooler to use it in an English sentence." Lacey said, answering Reid's question. "It's also my word of the day."

"So what college did you go to?" Reid asked getting onto a subject he was more comfortable with.

"Never been." Lacey said before draining her mug.

"What?" Reid asked, astounded by the fact.

"Well not yet. One day I'm going to go and study literature. But I need to wait a while first." Lacey admitted, but sounded determined.

"I would never have guess, I mean I did, but wow. Really?" Reid asked still amazed at this new discovery.

"Yeah, my mom and dad couldn't afford it, I was hoping for a scholarship but my Math marks let me down."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Reid said apologetically.

"Don't be, it might take a little while longer than I had planned, but I'm going to go." Lacey said. "How about you, you strike me as a Yale student."

"That was my safe school." Reid admitted then froze. He realised he would sound like a total jerk if he listed all the colleges he'd been to.

"Really? Wow, what school did you go to?"

"Caltech and MIT." Reid admitted quietly; scare he'd blown it.

"Wow, ladies and gentlemen. Genius in the house." Lacey joked. "That's amazing; you must be super smart, what's your IQ?"

"Wwhat?" Spencer stutter, confused by Lacey's behaviour.

"150,160? Come on, tell me." Lacey said bouncing in her seat.

"187." Reid mumbled, quietly.

"187! Wow, that's super-duper smart." Lacey said smiling friendly at Reid.

"You don't think it's weird?" Spencer asked nervously.

"How can it be weird if you were born like that?" Lacey asked before standing up. "As much as I'd love to stay and chat I've got a bundle of laundry calling my name." She said making Spencer smile. "See you around."

Reid watched her walk out the coffee house before snatching his bag and raced after her.

"Lacey!" he called making her spin around, smiling at him.

"Your twenty." He said handing it to her.

"Thanks," Lacey said smiling as she took it from him and turned to leave.

"I don't suppose, you'd like to get dinner, sometime?" Reid blurted out then froze. Had he just asked her that?

"Really?" Lacey asked, seeming genially excited.

"Yeah." Reid acknowledged tugging at his shoulder strap. They quickly traded numbers before Lacey left again to tackle her laundry. Reid grinned as he walked home. It was only as he got into his apartment that he realised he had no idea where to take her. He fished around in his pocket for his mobile and hit a number on speed dial.

"Hey JJ, I need some advice."

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**Okay explanation if you didn't get it, Lacey is smart, but her parents couldn't afford for her to go to college. Review and let me know what you think. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer - i own nothing. Okay i wrote this while i was babysitting after the kids were in bed. So awesome, i read the youngest one a story about fish.**

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The Stories We Could Tell

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"Do you notice something different about Reid?" Emily asked as she perched on the edge of Morgan's desk.

"He's, um, not wearing a tie?" Morgan asked looking across at the young doctor, not sure where Emily was going to take this.

"Really?" Emily asked; staring at Reid, realising in fact that he wasn't wearing a tie. In fact he was looking rather smart. "Has he got court today?" Emily asked, looking away from the doctor, as Morgan shaking his head.

"Nope, not today." Morgan answered. They watched as Reid checked his watch for the tenth time in the last fifteen minutes. "Okay, something's definitely up."

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Reid glanced at his watch for the 16th time in the last 17 minutes. He was meeting Lacey for dinner in 30 minutes and 19 seconds. JJ had suggested an Italian restaurant, roughly ten minutes from the BAU headquarters. He finished off his paperwork and decided to drop in on JJ before he left.

"You heading off then?" JJ asked as Reid as he slipped into her office.

"In a minute," Reid said as he nodded. "Do you think this is a good idea?" Reid asked, playing with his watch.

"Do you?" JJ countered.

"Maybe, I'm not sure. She's amazing, beautiful, and smart." Reid replied, smiling at the thought of her.

"There's your answer Spence." JJ said smiling at Reid. "You better go if you want to get there on time."

"Thanks JJ" Reid said as he stood up, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Let me know how it goes!" JJ called after Reid getting a wave of acknowledgement.

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Reid wrapped his arms around his chest pulling his jacket closer to himself. It was colder tonight than it had been the night before.

"Spence!" Spencer turned around to see Lacey jogging towards him. Her Grey jacket billowing out behind her like a cape, revealing a black dress that made Spencer gulp.

"Lacey. Hey." Spencer stuttered out shuffling his feet a little bit.

"Hey, have you been waiting long?" Lacey asked stopping beside him.

"Not long. You look nice, I mean, beautiful." Spencer said slightly embarrassed that he couldn't get out the words he wanted.

"Well you look stunning too, me darlin'" Lacey said, jokingly slightly, "So Italian?"

"Yeah, my friend recommended it." Spencer confirmed leading her through the door way. The restaurant was surprisingly empty for a Thursday night. The waiter led them to a table with a window view, allowing them to see onto the busy street. Spencer helped Lacey take her jacket off and pulled out her seat for her.

"Thanks, I'm really glad you asked me to come out for dinner." Lacey said playing with her necklace.

"Me too." Spencer agreed, opening his menu. "Do you want wine or something?"

"No thank you, I've had enough bad experiences with wine, in fact alcohol in general, to know it's a no go." Lacey said slightly embarrassed.

"Oh believe me I know." Spencer agreed, pleased that he wasn't going to have to lie about not wanting to drink. "Had a really bad college experience, hardly ever touched alcohol since." Spencer was unsure of why he was telling her this but he just was. Lacey smiled and opened her menu.

"Okay, did your friend recommend anything good to eat?" Lacey asked skimming over the menu.

"She said the Spaghetti Carbonara was good, or any of the pizzas." Spencer said smiling at Lacey, as she frowned at the menu trying to decide what to get. He had decided to get the Carbonara and Lacey decided – after changing her mind three times – to get a pepperoni pizza. Spencer recited their order to the waiter.

"And to drink?"

"I'll have a diet coke." Lacey said, letting the waiter know her preferred drink.

"I'll just have water." Spencer said, smiling at the younger man.

"So," Lacey said looking out the window. "What do you think they're saying?" She asked pointing towards to people out on the street. She smiled as he gave her a funny look. "Come on, I'm sure you've already got like 50 possibilities in your head." The waiter returned and gave Reid his water and Lacey her Diet Coke.

Reid shook his head and smiled. "I think they're just talking as friends." Spencer answered.

"Oh come on!" Lacey complained as Reid answered.

"What?" Spencer asked confused to what Lacey wasn't happy about.

"It's people watching, you try to guess as crazy as you can!" She exclaimed. Spencer just gave her a look that screamed 'what?' "Okay imagine they're actually talking about a time machine."

"Like in Doctor Who?" Spencer asked.

"Exactly like Doctor Who. Only it's not a TARDIS, because they aren't time lords, they have some crazy machine that tony stark invented."

Reid was stunned; Lacey actually got the reverence to Doctor Who and managed to continue the conversation without having to get him to explain it. "You do realise that Tony Stark,"

"Doesn't exist, but we're imagining." Lacey said, but before she could continue the waiter returned with their food. They both thanked the waiter before picking up their cutlery.

"Yours any good?" Lacey asked as she finished her first slice of pizza. Reid nodded then noticing she was using a knife and fork to eat her pizza. He could understand the knife but who eats pizza with a fork? He voiced his question to Lacey.

"Oh thank you lord!" Lacey exclaimed dropping the fork to the side of her plate. "I thought I'd try to be fancy but it wasn't working for me." Her honesty made Reid smile. Lacey continued to eat her food by taking small bites of slices rather than cutting them up.

"Okay, how about them?" Lacey asked pointing towards a group of women walking down the pavement towards the restaurant.

"They're actually coming to take your brain and eat it because they're zombies." Reid said, sounding incredibly serious, before taking a bite of his pasta.

"Ha. Ha." Lacey said slowly and sarcastically. "Very funny my name's Bugs Bunny."

Spencer smiled and tried not to laugh at her tone.

"Very mature." He said.

"That's why you love me." Lacey commented, then froze. "I mean you don't love me, it's just a saying, I mean." She blushed furiously

Before she could continue they were interrupted by the waiter.

"Can I get you anything else?"

"um, no thank you." Reid said after getting a nod from Lacey, "We're fine, thank you."

"Okay let me know if you change your mind."

"Okay," Spencer said changing the subject completely, to make Lacey feel a bit more at ease. "Shakespeare or Browning?"

"Battles of the poets?" Lacey asked.

"Don't you know it." Reid said making Lacey giggle at his lame joke. It made him feel funny, like his stomach tighten and twisted, but it didn't hurt, it was like a tickling sensation. Maybe he had too much dairy again.

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**Here we go. Might not be so good. Wrote it in 2 hours. Review and let me know what you think :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer - i own nothing. **

**Yes i realise i am a horrible person. I've had hardly anytime to myself in the past week. I'm sorry :(**

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The Stories We Could Tell

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Reid watched as Lacey poured a tiny amount of milk into her coffee they had both ordered after their meal. Her silver charm bracelet clinked against the metal milk jug as she tried to control the trickle of milk. She stopped pouring jerkily and placed the milk jug back to the centre of the table. He smiled and tipped another packet of sugar into his own coffee and gave it a quick stir.

"Wow, make sure you have some coffee with you sugar." Lacey joked, sipping her coffee and then quickly sat it back down on the table and started waving her hands around her mouth and pulled a funny face.

"Are you okay?" Spencer asked concerned by Lacey's sudden change in behaviour.

Lacey nodded slowing the movement of her hand, "Oh yeah, thanks. The coffee's boiling!" she exclaimed; tucking a strand of her golden hair behind her ear.

Spencer smiled as she lifted the coffee to her mouth and started blowing gently on the surface of the liquid.

"Okay what do you think they're saying?" Spencer asked, continuing the game they were playing earlier, as he pointed to a tanned man with dreadlocks walking next to another man with a military styled haircut.

"Who allowed this man, this pathetic man, this man who could not outwit a used teabag, to be in a position where he might endanger the entire crew? Who? Lacey replied in a funny English accent, waving a hand around dramatically to emphasis her point. She then laughed as Spencer gave her a look that could only be found on the face of an extremely confused puppy or apparently Spencer Reid.

"Kryten says it in the episode Justice," Lacey explained. "Those two guys look like Lister and Rimmer! You can't deny it." She then groaned at Reid as she came to a 'horrifying' realisation. "You're a Trekkie, aren't you?"

"I prefer the term 'Fan', but yes I enjoy Star Trek. What were you quoting?" Spencer asked, both amused and curious about Lacey's comment.

"Red Dwarf. Only the best sci-fi programme out there." Lacey said sipping from her now cool coffee. "But this is the part when you tell me I'm wrong and we have a massive debate about which is better."

"Red Dwarf? I've never heard of that." Reid admitted, searching his memory for any mention of the said programme.

"It's a British, Sci-fi/comedy." Lacey confessed. "They tried to make an American version was a total flop after the pilot." Reid listen to Lacey explain the basics of the programme while he drained his coffee. He smiled as he realised he probably went into as much detail about Star Trek as she did about Red Dwarf.

At some point the conversation changed from Sci-fi programmes to Sci-fi books. They both agreed that Philip K. Dick was the best Sci-fi writer either had read in a long time.

"Can I get you anything else?" The waiter asked as he returned to the table. Spencer looked at Lacey questionably – who shook her head – before replying 'no thank you' and asking for the check.

"Which I'm paying." Spencer said as he reached into his pocket for his wallet.

"At least let me go halves?" Lacey asked. "You bought the coffees before."

"I asked you to dinner, I'm paying." Spencer said leaving no room for argument.

"Are you sure?" Lacey asked, slightly happy that Spencer was insisting to pay. She hadn't had a date like this in a while.

"Absolutely." Spencer said checking the bill as it arrived and then put the cash plus a tip on the table.

Spencer stood up and pulled on his jacket before moving round to help Lacey with hers. He glanced at his watch and realised they had been there for almost two hours.

"Did you walk here?" Spencer asked.

"I got the underground." Lacey said as they exited the restaurant waving goodbye to the waiter.

Can I walk you to the Station then?" Reid asked keeping in pace with Lacey as they stepped onto the side walk. It had become colder as they had been inside and spencer wrapped his coat closer to his body, i really need to start bringing my thicker coat, he thought as Lacey thanked him for the kind offer he made.

"It's just around the corner." She agreed.

They walked along occasionally commenting on things they passed until they reached the underground station.

"Thanks for dinner," Lacey said smiling at Spencer. "I had a really good time."

"Thanks for agreeing to come." Spencer smiled as he replied; he started getting the same weird feeling in his stomach, like he had just been on a roller coaster.

"I don't suppose you'd, like to do something like this again?" Spencer asked nervously."

"I'd love to." Lacey said playing with her necklace with one hand the other one buried in the jacket pocket, safe from the cold.

Reid was suddenly unsure what to do. Should he kiss her or …? He lent in slowly to see what would happen and Lacey stretched up to meet him. They were frozen like that until Spencer slowly closed the gap and gave her a peck on the lips. His stomach tingled and he felt weird but good at the same time. Lacey smiled and blushed a bit and pulled away slowly.

"Goodnight Spencer." Lacey said, turning to go down the stairs to the underground.

"Goodnight Lacey, I'll call you later?" He called hopefully after her. Lacey spun around and smiled.

"I'll be waiting." She gave a final wave and then disappeared from view as she descended the stairs. Reid let out a breath he didn't even realise he was holding and the suddenly realised he couldn't stop smiling. He felt like he was about to jump for joy. He spun around on the spot and a start making his way back along the quiet streets to his underground station. It had been better than he had thought it would be.

* * *

Reid got into the office on time and went to grab his second cup of coffee for the day. He sat down and his desk and was just about to take a sip of the boast he was looking for when JJ appeared in front of him.

"So how was it?" JJ questioned, perching herself on the edge of Reid's desk eager to hear about her friend's night.

"Good, great even." Spencer said eagerly, glancing around the bull pen before continuing, "I kissed her." he admitted.

"Really?" JJ asked amazed at that, slightly astounded that Spencer made the first move.

Spencer nodded and took another sip of coffee which turned into a gulp as Morgan appeared through the door with Garcia in tow.

"Are you okay?" JJ asked as Reid coughed and tried to clear his throat, before turning around and seeing Morgan and Garcia.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Reid confirmed coughing again.

"I want to hear all about it later deal?" JJ asked quickly before Morgan and Garcia reached them. Reid gave a quick nod of confirmation before returning to trying to clear his throat again.

"You drink too much of that stuff," Morgan announced as he dropped his jacket over the back of his chair, "It's going to kill you."

"The average American drinks 3.2 cups of coffee a day and studies show that coffee could decreasing the odds of heart failure." Reid rattled off the statistics he had stored in the back of his mind.

"Yeah, but you drink more than 5 cups a day, my little G-man." Garcia pointed out.

"Someone's got to make up for the non-coffee drinkers in society." Morgan joked. "It's a good job we have Reid around to save the average American statistic."

* * *

**There we go. Massive apology again for the long wait. I'll try up date again this week, at some point. Review and let me know what you think. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer - i own nothing. **

**So yeah, i'm sorry i am a horrible person. i've had NABs that i have been studying for and my rugby has been taking up a lot more time. But i've injured my shoulder so i'm out for a few weeks so updates should be more regular. :)**

* * *

The Stories We Could Tell

* * *

Reid and JJ walked back into the office. It had been a long case – three days in Utah and Reid had only gotten five hours sleep in that time. Due to the lack of co-operation from the county police, two more men lost their lives. Everyone was feeling the aftermath of the case and just wanted to go home and sleep. Reid made a beeline for his desk as soon as they got to the bull pen and grabbed two files from the desk before heading back towards the exit. JJ gave him a wave goodbye as she headed towards her office, needing only to sort a few things out before she could return home to her husband and son.

* * *

Reid's phone woke him up, chiming from his bedside table. He groaned, knowing that it was most likely a case; Hotch usually tried to put a few days between cases but now and then, a case was urgent enough to go back to back.

"Reid." Spencer answered the phone rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Spencer. Hey, is this a bad time?" Spencer smiled as Lacey greeted him.

"No, I just woke up." Spencer admitted rolling out of bed, grabbing his glasses and heading towards the kitchen to put some coffee on. With years of practice he slipped his glasses on with one hand

"Did I wake you?" Lacey asked, before there was rustling sound. Spencer could picture her; phone tucked between head and shoulder, leaving her hands free to sort books.

"Yes, but it's okay." Spencer admitted, turning on the coffee machine and moving to the fridge.

"So, I was thinking. There's this play downtown, 'The Tempest' and I was wondering if you'd like to go and see it sometime." Lacey's voice questioned nervously down the phone.

"I'd love to," Spencer answered. "What date are you thinking about going?"

"Well that's why I called you; I wanted to see what suited you best, seeing as you have crazy work hours."

Lacey's comment took Spencer by surprise. She was the first girl he had met in a long time who was willing to try arrange 'dates' around his work, instead of demanding a time and place for him to be there.

"Spencer?" Lacey's call distracted him from his thoughts.

"I'm most likely free for the next week or so," Spencer admitted. "How about you buy the tickets for some time this week, my boss isn't likely to do a back to back case."

"Okay," Lacey agreed, happy that Spencer wanted to spend time with her again. "I'll talk to you later."

"Bye." Spencer said, hanging up the phone and pouring the now ready coffee. He hadn't been to see a play in a long time and was starting to look forwards to it. He reached into the almost bare cupboard and grabbed the sugar, tipping in just the right amount and heading for the couch. He was vaguely aware of Hotch telling them to take the day, so he grabbed the two files he had in his messenger bag and started to read them over.

He finished the files and accompanying paper work within the hour and wrote a letter to his mother. He had mentioned Lacey in his letters before but now he found himself writing a lot more about her than his cases. He finished his letter, which was slightly longer than usual and slipped it into an envelope and placed it on the table so he could slip it into the letterbox the next morning on his way to work.

* * *

_Hey Spencer, I booked the tickets for the 26__th __show starts at 7:30pm. Hope that's okay – Lacey :)__xx._

Reid smiled at the text that had arrived while he was making his third cup of coffee of the day in the break room. He picked his mobile and slowly typed a response saying that it was fine and he couldn't wait. He looked at the message reading it through a couple of times before deciding to add one 'x' to stand in for a kiss. He sent it then slipped his phone back in his pocket.

"Hey Reid, how's the paperwork going?" Morgan asked as he headed towards the coffee machine.

"Fine," Spencer said tipping a large amount of sugar into his coffee. Morgan shook his head at the sight. How Reid still had the perfect teeth he was born with was a mystery.

"So I was thinking that we could hand out on Friday?" Morgan asked taking a sip from his mug, leaning against the counter.

"Um, that's the 26th right?" Reid asked.

"Yeah, why you got another mystery thing planned?" Morgan asked, looking up from his coffee to his friend.

"I'm going to see a play with a friend." Reid admitted heading back to his desk with his coffee. Morgan followed closely on his heels.

"Is this 'friend' a lady?" Morgan asked, sitting his coffee down on his own desk before following Reid back to the younger agent's work space. Noting how the younger agent was ignoring him.

"What, Reid's got a girlfriend?" Emily asked, looking up from her paperwork with great interest.

"She's not my girlfriend." Reid insisted before groaning, he couldn't believe he walked right into that one. He could feel his cheeks turning red with embarrassment.

"So there is a girl," Morgan stated grinning widely at his friend. "what's her name?"

Reid grabbed another file off his desk refusing to answer or make eye contact with them.

"Oh come on Reid, just tell us!" Emily cried from her desk.

"So you can have Garcia look her up? No way." Reid said, scribbling a note onto the form in front of him.

"We would never do that." Morgan insisted, he tried to look sincere as possible but the look he was getting from Reid told him that he wasn't being that convincing. Morgan sighed before heading back to his desk. He'd try to get more out of him later.

Reid's phone beeped letting him know he had received a text.

_Awesome! I'll see you on Friday; I'll meet you at the corner shop on gate's way at 7:00pm – Lacey :P__xx_

Reid smiled at the text getting that weird feeling in his stomach again. Morgan exchanged a look of curiosity with Emily.

"Is that her?" Morgan asked. Reid looked up and nodded slowly before turning his attention back to his phone. Morgan jerked his head towards Garcia's office when he was sure he had Emily's attention. They both left Reid trying to respond to the text message.

* * *

"Hey baby girl, I need a favour." Morgan called as he entered Garcia's office with Emily on his heels.

"What can I do for you my chocolate bear?" Garcia said spinning around in her chair.

"Can you trace the number that sent Reid a message a minute ago and find out who it belongs to?" Morgan asked.

"Why, is my G-man in danger? " Garcia asked, slightly worried.

"No, but he got a text from a girl who 'isn't his girlfriend'" Emily said perching on the edge of Garcia's desk reassuring her friend.

"No problem," Garcia said, letting the two field agents watch in amazement as her fingers danced across the keyboard. "Okay got it. The number belongs to a Erin Keller. Aww My little G-man's growing up." She said, showing the two agents the number and Erin Keller's driving licence.

"What have we got on her?" Emily asked

"Where do you want to start?" Garcia replied.

* * *

Spencer looked up at his phone as it beeped again. It had taken him a few messages to work out that Lacey hadn't been texting him from her phone so he had asked her about it.

_Hey Spencer, forgot to say, this is a friend's number. My phone died on me :/ I think the battery's messed up. I'll see you on Friday – Lacey :P__xx_

* * *

**There we go. Hope you all enjoyed it. I'll tried never to be this late updating again. Review and let me know. Even if it's just to moan about lack of updates.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer - i own nothing. **

**Okay, i'm sorry. I have felt no desire to write in the last few months. This came to me in the last two hour. so enjoy.**

* * *

"Erin Keller, she's 43 … Oh. My. God! Reid's dating a cougar!" Garcia squealed in disgust flicking through the file she had pulled on Erin. "Reid's only like 25, that's wrong on so many levels."

"Focus baby girl, where does she work?" Morgan asked, also disturbed by the fact Reid was dating a woman a lot older than him.

"Liza's Laundry, it's a laundrette about ten minutes from here."

"Isn't that near that coffee shop – Tina's coffee? – Reid took us to one time?" Emily asked leaning on the edge of Garcia's desk.

"Tina's Café, yeah I remember." Morgan said leaning towards the screen scanning for any extra information he could find on this woman. How on earth did Reid meet her?

* * *

By the 26th Reid was nervous all over again. He had asked Hotch if he could leave at 5:30 giving him plenty of time to nip home and change before meeting up with Lacey. But he still couldn't shake this nervous feeling.

"Hey Spence, are you leaving soon?" JJ asked as she approached his desk.

Reid glanced at his watch and realised he better head off soon or he'd end up being late. "Yeah I'll finish this file off and then go." Reid said scribbling the last few sentences off and shutting the file.

"You can come and join us later if you want Reid, your _friend _can come too." Morgan said determined to meet Reid's girlfriend. Reid gave him a look that reminded him of his fourth grade teacher when he said something inappropriate.

"I'll see you guys on Monday," Reid called as he grabbed his bag and headed to the door, getting acknowledgement from the team as he did so.

Reid took a quick shower and changed his clothes before heading off to meet Lacey. JJ had managed to convince him to not wear a tie and loose the sweater vest and don a suit jacket, he managed to look smart yet casual and had forgone his glasses for contacts. He grabbed his phone and wallet from his bag leaving it on the sofa and left the apartment, slipping the keys off the side table as he did. A glance at his watch told him he had half an hour to meet Lacey. He almost skipped down to the underground and jumped on the first cart heading in the right direction.

* * *

His leg jittered as he waited outside the corner shop for Lacey a block away from the theatre. He glanced at his watch again, Lacey still had five minutes to arrive, but he didn't understand why he felt so nervous. She had shown up for their last date hadn't she?

"Spencer!" Spencer spun around at the sound of his name to see Lacey skipping down the sidewalk to meet him. Her usual grey jacket was missing but she wore a green flowing dress, but the look was complete in a strange '_Lacey' _way – for lack of better words- with a pair of converse instead of pumps or heels. He was snapped out of his musing by her reaching up to peck him on the cheek.

"Hey," Reid said wrapping his arms around her almost cautiously and hugged her, "You look beautiful." He blushed slightly at his forwardness but was put to ease when Lacey giggled.

"Thanks, not so bad yourself Mr Reid." Lacey said leaning into his hug before pulling back to get a better look at him. "Hath thee review thy auld English?" Lacey tried in a terrible accent, which sounded more Scottish than English, spinning around so her dress floated around her legs as she pulled him towards the theatre. Spencer laughed and linked his arm though hers in an attempt to steady her and was surprised when she didn't pull away.

"So you like plays?" Spencer asked, as they entered the theatre. It was amazing how run down the outside looked to the plush preserved inside.

"No, I just dragged you along so I have help to turn it into a panto." Lacey said monotonously as they walked across the reception area to the ticket collection desk.

"Oh no you don't!" Reid joked, making Lacey burst into laughter as the woman at the desk happened to look up. After a minute Lacey wiped her eyes and collected their tickets which were pre-paid.

"So you don't try to pay for them, my treat." Lacey said looking at the tickets, slipping a hand into Spencer and smiled as he gave a gentle squeeze.

* * *

"That was so good!" Lacey said as they exited the theatre her hand worked its way into Spencer once again. Their fingers interlocked as they walked aimlessly down the side walk. "What did you think?"

"I was waiting for you to start hissing as soon as Antonio came onstage." Spencer said referring to her earlier mention of the pantomime.

"Nah, next time though we should be groundlings, or find a theatre so that has an area for groundlings." Lacey said.

"First you throw books, now you want to throw fruit at people." Spencer said laughing at her enthusiasm.

"Only at the villains, or people who bore me."

"There wouldn't be enough fruit to keep you satisfied," Spencer said as they passed a coffee vendor and slowed to a halt to look at the coffee list.

"We could throw veg as well, don't want them to feel left out. You know the whole 5 greens a day." Lacey said not bothering to look at the menu knowing what she was going to order.

"I don't think it was meant like that." Spencer said ordering them both their preferred coffee and slipping some money to the man in exchange for the hot beverages. They both nurse the drinks in their free hand and continued down the street aimlessly their linked hand swinging between them.

"I read that book by David Rossi." Lacey stated after taking a sip of coffee.

"What did you think?" Reid became hesitant, knowing that a lot of the girls he had attempted to date hated his job with a passion.

"It all seems a bit… surreal, I mean being able to work out how a serial killer works and who his next target is possibly going to be and why they started out. It's amazing to be frank." She said.

"It had changed quite a lot since Rossi wrote those books; people are more open to profiling." Spencer said, please she wasn't total disgusted by what he did.

"Well profiling's defiantly not for me but I'm glad there are people out there that can do it and keep us mere mortals safe." Lacey joked but there was some sincerity to her words, they made Reid feel almost proud that his team gained some recognition.

Lacey squeezed Reid's hand and pulled closer to him as the night got colder. She started to shiver which Spencer picked up on quite quickly. He pulled his hand from hers making he stop and he shrugged off his own jacket.

"Here, take this." He said offering his jacket to her.

"No Spence, self-inflicted injury I should have brought my own." Lacey said but her protest was ignored as the jacket was forced onto her shoulders. She slipped her arms into the sleeves which hung over her hands. She jerked he arm up so her hand was free and quickly re-joined hands with Reid.

"Thanks," Lacey said smiling shyly at Spencer slight embarrassed at not bringing her jacket but was secretly pleased Spencer had forgone his jacket so she could wear it.

"Anytime." Reid said smiling at Lacey; they continued to walk until they reached the subway stop reaching a stop they had always planned on reaching but took their time getting there.

They both headed down to the subway but intended to get different trains.

"Here's your jacket," Lacey said starting to slip it off her shoulders only for Spencer to place a hand on her shoulder stopping her attempt.

"You hang onto it for a while; I can get it back later." Spencer said, as her train pulled into the underground station.

"Are you …"

"Positive." Reid affirmed, leaning down and giving her a kiss. No shame or nervousness felt as he did so, it felt … right. He broke the kiss as the Bing sounded as the train was getting ready to leave. He helped Lacey onto the train and waving as the doors shut.

She made a phone sign with her hand and held it up to her ear and Reid read her lips as she mimed, "call me." His jacket swamping her dainty figure was the last look he got of her as the train pulled out of the subway system. Reid stared after the train until he could no longer see the tunnel where in disappeared before leaving in search of his own way home.

* * *

**Review and let me know what you think. I'm not going to promise any updates soon, they might happen but they might not. I appreciate anyone who's going to stick with me. Thanks. (im sorry if it wasn't worth the wait.)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer - i don't own anything. Sorry if Reid seems a little OOC here. Bad case of writers block going on at the moment, taken me two weeks to piece this together. **

* * *

The Stories We Could tell

* * *

"I can't believe it! It's n-not true, he can't be …"

"I'm sorry,"

"Don't! Chuckie isn't dead!"

"You named your phone Chuckie?" Reid asked looking at Lacey amused. They were sitting in a park on a bench, Lacey's phone sitting between them split open with the inners on the outer and missing 4 different number keys.

"He liked to be chucked, hence his namesake." Lacey said slumping in defeat. She had made the mistake of wearing her favourite ratty hoodie, because she was told it made her look 'indie' – whatever that meant – and the phone had fallen out of the rapidly growing hole of her pocket onto the road, where it was crushed by 3 different cars in quick succession.

Spencer smiled at her apologetically knowing she loved her phone even if he didn't really understand the appeal of the technology. They had been to the play the night before and Spencer decided to call her and offer to go for a walk. Seeing as Lacey didn't open shop until noon she agreed.

"Would a coffee with a 'tiny' bit of sugar help?" Reid asked standing up and offering a hand feeling the need to have an intake of caffeine. Lacey let out a sigh and nodded accepting his hand and cradled the remains of her phone.

"Alas poor Chuckie, I knew him well." Lacey said as she dug among the remain and pulled out the SIM card, before letting out another heartfelt sigh and dropped the decapitated cell phone into a nearby bin. Reid smiled and offered his hand as she moved beside him.

"I hate shopping for phones," Lacey mumbled as the headed towards Tina's Café the SIM card turning over and over in the palm of her hand. "Can you hold onto this for me? My pockets are non-existent apparently." Lacey said holding the SIM card to Spencer timidly.

"Sure." Spencer said slipping the SIM into his pocket and ducked into the small coffee shop after Lacey. Both shared an amused look at the girl who was standing behind the counter staring at the wall opposite her. Lacey cleared her throat and the girl jumped.

"Hey guy, the usual?" Anya asked, Lacey and Spencer had both become frequent customers over the last few months, so their order had become 'the usual'.

"Is the sky blue?" Lacey asked,

"Actually the blue color of the sky is due to Rayleigh scattering. As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths pass straight through. Little of the red, orange and yellow light is affected by the , much of the shorter wavelength light is absorbed by the gas molecules. The absorbed blue light is then radiated in different directions. It gets scattered all around the sky. Since you see the blue light from everywhere overhead, the sky looks blue, but it's actually white." Spencer said, make Lacey reach up and start poking him in the forehead. "Hey, what are you doing?" Spencer asked, nudging her finger away, hoping she wasn't going to make a robot joke like Emily.

"Getting your attention, slow down the speed, you say such interesting stuff but speak to fast for me to pay attention." Lacey said as Anya giggled. Spencer dropped all his odd change on the counter as usual. They both worked out Anya got bored really easy so by dropping the spare change on the counter she had something to do. They both grabbed their coffees and headed to some comfy armchairs, sitting in compatible silence.

"Spencer, you're 23 cents short!" Anya called over to him, making Lacey giggle. Spencer smiled and got up and headed over to the counter and handed over a dollar.

"Keep the change," Spencer said smiling at Anya as she looked at him in disbelief.

"You're tipping me 77 cents?" Anya asked in disbelief, looking at the dollar note in her hand and then back at Spencer. "Lacey you need to talk to your man, I don't believe this, I though you would have had him trained by now." She called over Spencer's shoulder to Lacey who was in tears of laughter.

Spencer rolled his eyes and handed her another dollar before heading back to the chairs. "Love you too, sugarplum!" Anya called before sorting all the change into the drawer.

"Well, 'My Man' I need to head over and open the shop wanna come and read books with me all day?" Lacey asked before draining the last of her coffee and trying to look at her watch at the same time trying to make a point.

"Will there be singing?" Spencer asked, looking at the dregs in the bottom of his mugs.

"Spence, you know me, there will always be singing." Lacey said smiling at him and he shook his head in amusement and defeat.

* * *

Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you_ cryin_'? Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you_** cryyyyyyinnnnnnnnn**_?"

Spencer watched as Lacey spun around with an imaginary mike in one hand, pricing gun in the other singing along to the radio, not caring that her voice clashed with the original singer's occasionally stopped spinning and slapped a label on one of the books before spinning onwards. She grinned at him as he lent against the counter, feeling free to be herself around him. The song came to an end and was punctuated by Spencer's phone ringing.

"Reid." Spencer said as he answered his phone.

"Hey Reid, we've got a case, wheels up in thirty briefing on the plane." Hotch said and then hung up, he sounded flustered and in a rush.

He let out a sigh, but Lacey spoke before he could apologise

"Duty calls huh?" Lacey said smiling at him, getting a nod of confirmation, "Dinner when you get back then?" She asked, smiling at him pulling him into a hug. Spencer leaned down and kissed her softly, she reached up with her free hand and placed it on her neck pulling him closer and deepening the kiss.

"Wow" Lacey said when they separated, leaning into him. Spencer suddenly jumped as he felt something touch his ass and heard three quick clicks. Lacey started giggling.

"You didn't," He said disbelievingly, trying to look at the back of his trousers, having no luck as Lacey's giggles turned into a full blown laugh. He managed to pull them off as she was incapable of helping him. He gave her a quick peck before heading off to work.

"Talk to you later Spence!" Lacey called before noticing something, "Wait!" but it was too late Spencer was already out of the door. "Oh well, someone will tell him.

* * *

Reid entered the office last. The rest of the team were almost ready to leave but luckily he kept a go bag under his desk and his gun was left there on Friday night. He reached in his pocket to grab his phone but pulled something out with it. The SIM card was dwarfed in his hand; he had forgotten to give it back to Lacey.

"Let's go!" Hotch called rushing through the bull pen; Reid sat the SIM on his desk knowing that if he took it with him there was a good chance he'd lose the last remaining part of 'Chuckie' .

"Hey Reid?" Morgan called from behind. Reid glanced over his shoulder as they got into the elevator. "You have a price tag on your ass. How did that get there?" Reid blushed and ducked his head.

"I have no idea Morgan. I have absolutely no idea."

* * *

**Vola! Review and let me know what you think. Please be honest, pretty please. :^)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer - i don't own anything. Officially on holiday, whooo 3 day 'til christmas. Not a lot of Lacey in this Chapter but just wait until you see what i have planned for the next chapter :)**

* * *

The Stories We Could Tell

* * *

Reid leaned back into the cushioned seat of the plane, they were heading to South Dakota; three people killed in the last four weeks in a small town. All victims had been killed in different ways, all different races, two males one female – the only connection was the same apologetic note left at each crime scenes. Spencer sat up in his chair spotting something one of the crime scene photos and called it to attention of the team, not knowing what was going on back at the B.A.U headquarters.

* * *

Garcia only spotted the SIM card by chance, in her normal fast rate of gather information for the team she had bumped into Spencer's desk and sent some pencils to the floor, causing her to stop and gather them up. In amongst them was a white SIM card that was calling her name. It must have been Reid's; her little G-man would have no idea what it was with his technophobia and most likely took it out to avoid technology. It would give her the perfect chance to find about more about Reid's girlfriend. She placed the pencils back on the desk and clutched the SIM in her hand and headed back to her technological heaven.

She used two of her main screens to continue following a lead Reid had found and used her third one to run the SIM card. She stared at the number that came up registered to the SIM. It wasn't Reid's and it wasn't Erin Keller's. She stared at the screen for a while before the other two screens started screaming for her attention. She decided to phone her chocolate god of thunder to give him the findings but also get advice.

"Hey Baby-Girl, what have you got for me?" Morgan's voice filled her office through the small speaker, Garcia quickly filled Morgan in with what she had uncovered before continuing with the more personal side of things.

"I found a SIM card on Reid's desk."

"Okay, so Reid took his SIM out of his phone, so what?" Morgan asked not sure why she was so confused, Reid was usually with another member of the team so he didn't always have to use his cell phone.

"But it isn't his and it isn't Erin Keller's, should I run it or should I just put it back?" Garcia asked looking at the tiny card that was causing her so much panic.

"Run it, search the person who it belongs to and call me when you find out more." Morgan said with an air of authority.

"You got it sugar shack, P.G out!" Garcia called before hanging up the phone and moving closer to the SIM card "So my little pretty, what information do you have for Auntie Penelope?" she said as her hands flew across the keyboard.

* * *

Spencer's phone started to buzz a few hours after they landed, he pulled it awkwardly from his pocket well aware that Morgan was giving him a funny look and answered the phone.

"Reid …" He said but couldn't get anything else before he was ambushed by a wave of panicked chatter.

"Do you have Chuckie's brain? Please tell me you still have it." Reid ran his hand over his face before he answered; he had completely forgotten to warn Lacey he still had it.

"Yeah, I left it on my desk, I completely forgot, can you live without it for a few days or do you really need it." Spencer asked trying to think of a way of getting Lacey her SIM back without causing too much commotion.

"Thank God! It's okay, I can live without Chuckie for a few days, but you're buying coffees when you get back!" Lacey voice chimed down the phone sounding a lot happier. "I'll see you when you get back, take care of yourself Spence."

"I will, see you when I get back." Spencer agreed before hanging back and turning towards Morgan.

"Everything okay, Pretty Boy?" Morgan asked, curiosity seeped through his body

"Yeah, just a friend I was going to meet for drinks." Reid lied wanting to keep his work and time with Lacey separate, at least for now.

Morgan nodded not believing Reid for one minute and started to wish Garcia would call him back as soon as possible.

* * *

Two words finally jumped out after a long time searching, Lacey Thompson. Blonde hair, brown eyes, about 5'6", same age as Reid and worked in a small bookshop. This confused Garcia, how did she fit into this mystery? She stretched across her desk and called Morgan.

"What have you got for me, sweet cheeks?" Morgan called, his voice once again echoing around her small office. Garcia shared her findings, not sure what else she could do, there were no messages saved to the SIM just a few numbers, one being Erin Keller's and another being Reid's. Morgan didn't seem too sure either, they both agreed to keep it to themselves, _for now._ Garcia scooped up the SIM and placed it back on Reid's desk in roughly the same area as she believed it would have been before she sent it to the floor.

* * *

Three days later the team were on the plane back heading home, the killer had been caught and everything had turned out okay, there had been no more victims since the B.A.U were appointed to the case, something everyone was relieved by. Spencer made a quick stop to grab Lacey's SIM, too tired to even notice that the card was not in the same place he had left it in and headed for the elevator. Morgan watched as Reid slipped the SIM into his pocket and headed to the door, before leading Emily to Garcia's office.

"What have we got?" Emily asked, having being partnered with Rossi for this case she wasn't up to date of the new player in the 'Who's Reid's girlfriend' mystery.

"Two girls: Erin Keller – 43 years old, works in a laundrette. Or Lacey Thompson – same age as Reid and works in a bookshop, both are within a two minutes' walk from Tina's café." Garcia answered pulling up a picture of each girl. They were looking at the two pictures when Rossi opened the door and walked into the middle of the 'briefing'. He looked at the two pictures of the girls before looking at the younger profilers.

"Should I be worried? Or should Reid?" Rossi asked raising one eyebrow and watch as the younger agents had the decency to look a bit guilty. "You could always ask him," Rossi said as he turned to leave the room leaving the younger agents to think about his short point. They all waited a minute before they were sure he had left.

"Should we check them out?" Emily asked looking at Garcia and Morgan, not sure whether they should be breaching into their friend's personal life.

"I think we should make sure Reid's not out of his depth," Morgan answered, Garcia nodding in agreement. They stayed in the office for the next half hour planning their surveillance on the two women who Reid appeared to be in contact with.

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**Just a filler chapter i guess, i don't want to write too much about the cases as this is more the personal side of things, but i wasn't really comfortable writing Morgan and Garcia as i was writing Spencer and Lacey, Review and let me know what you though.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer - i don't own anything. ****Here it is as promised :) sorry about the lack of updates or if my note upset some are over! i thought you'd rather know i wasn't abandoning this than me just keeping quiet. Let me know how this chapter turns out, not so sure about it.**

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The Stories We Could Tell

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Hey Jj, are you leaving for the night?" Jj looked up to see Rossi leaning against her door frame.

"Yeah, I was just about to leave, why?" Jj asked confused because she always went home to see Henry and Will after a case – something that the whole team knew. Whereas Spencer and Morgan would hang around to get some paperwork done Jj usually left after sorting out what paper work would be done in the following days.

"I think Penelope wanted to speak to you before you left." Rossi answered cryptically, heading to his office. Jj stuffed the last of the reports she'd have to look over the next day in her drawer and headed down to Penelope's den. Jj paused outside the door as she caught part of Penelope and Morgan's conversation.

"I'm thinking that we should follow him from work. He won't notice." Morgan said trying to persuade Emily and Penelope.

"That's way too obvious of course Reid would notice." Emily said leaning heavily against Penelope's desk. Jj looked at the screens and saw that they were mainly blank apart from one which held a driver's licence belonging to a Lacey Thompson. Rossi must have overheard them which explains why her told her.

"What's going on?" Jj jumped at the sound of Hotch's voice which also made the occupants of Penelope's den spin around. Penelope made a mad scramble to shut down the photo but not before Hotch got a clear view on what they were looking at.

"So this is Reid's friend?" Hotch asked walking into the room, making sure everyone was listening. He watched as Penelope nodded but Morgan and Emily stayed still. "And why are we using the bureau's resources to look up who Reid is hanging out with?" Hotch asked looking straight at Morgan knowing he was the ringleader of this little operation. Morgan sighed knowing there was no point denying what they were doing.

"We got a little nosey with what Reid was doing, he was being secretive." Morgan pointed out knowing that Hotch would have noticed his 'abnormal' behaviour.

"Yes, and Reid has a right to privacy. How would you like it if Spencer got involved with one of your dates?" Jj asked backing up Hotch. "He's just nervous, he'll probably tell you about her when he feels ready, but if you guys barge in he'll get embarrassed and flustered and most likely, knowing Spencer not want to continue dating this girl. They have a good thing going so leave them alone!"

* * *

"My hero!" Lacey hugged Spencer as he held up her SIM card to her when he arrived at their table at Tina's Café. He sat down and grabbed the coffee that was sitting on the table in front of him sinking into the comfy armchair and relaxing after the last case. He watched as Lacey pulled out a new phone and fitted the SIM card in under the battery and powered it up.

"He's alive, he's alive, wahahahaha." Lacey cackled as she held her phone up to the light making Spencer laugh. She smiled at him and then started talking about the last few days in the shop and filling him in on what he missed. Spencer listened sipping his coffee that Lacey had somehow managed to get the perfect amount of sugar in and let the conversation flow over him.

"How was your case?" Lacey asked after she explained how she changed the order of alphabetical to a 'scale of awesomeness' in the shop. "Are you allowed to talk about it?" she then added quickly glancing around the café humming the mission impossible theme. Spencer smiled but shook his head.

"I'd rather not talk about it, if that's okay?" Spencer said, he didn't want Lacey to hear about the horrors he saw.

"No, that's fine Spencer, I get it. But if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll listen." Lacey said reaching out and holding his hand over the table. Spencer nodded acknowledging her point and they fell back into a comfortable silence still holding hands over the table.

"What are we?" Lacey eventually asked breaking the silence. Spencer looked at her questioningly, the lack of sleep starting to catch up with him. "Friends, close friends, Boyfriend/Girlfriend?" Lacey continued looking at him nervously across the table but sounded hopeful.

"I, I've never been in a proper relationship before." Spencer admitted starting to feel a little nervous and hit stomach felt like it was doing loop the loops. "But I would really like to be in one with you." He finished looking back at Lacey, he watched her smile grow and then she blushed, nodding.

"I like the sound of that." She said, squeezing his hand. Spencer couldn't help smiling back at her. They sat together smiling and finishing their coffees in a compatible silence, still holding hands over the table. Eventually the lack of sleep started to catch up with Spencer and he started to yawn. Lacey smiled and pulled her hand away.

"Common, beddie byes for you mister." She said grabbing her bag and pulling him to his feet.

"You know the average adult can cope with going 2-3 days without sleep before hallucinations kick in and then last another 3 days before the body crashing and you pass out." Spencer explained, Lacey probably would have found it more impressive if he hadn't have punctuated his finish with a large yawn. She smiled as Spencer grabbed his bag and then reached out for her hand.

"At least let me walk you to the subway station." He said nodding a goodbye to the girl behind the counter.

It started to get dark as they walked hand in hand down the street, the active buzz of the city rushing by their unhurried stroll. Lacey pressed up against his side to let the rest of the commuters fly pass on their way home, squeezing his hand every now and then to convey when she saw something she found funny. They slowed to a stop when they got to the station and on instinct Spencer pulled Lacey closer to say goodbye.

"Dinner tomorrow?" He asked, pulling her closer, smiling as she agreed and reached up to kiss him goodbye. He waited until she disappeared down the steps before continuing on to his apartment. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket about two minutes later.

_Let me know when my boyfriend gets home, I wouldn't want him falling asleep in the middle of the street.– Lacey xx_

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**:) Review and let me know if it was worth the wait. Feedback is always appreciated.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer - i don't own anything. So yeah, haven't updated in almost a month so here you go. Sorry about that.**

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The Stories we could tell

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Morgan and Emily stared at Reid as he dropped his bag at his desk before heading off in the direction of Jj's office. He was dressed a bit more causal, forgoing a tie and just wearing a shirt and smart trousers with his dress shoes. Everything about Reid seemed more relaxed recently.

"Do you think he's seeing that girl then?" Morgan asked approaching Emily's desk, leaning against the edge, eyes trained on Reid. Emily looked up at Morgan and sighed;

"We were told to leave it, just drop it for now; he'll probably tell you … eventually." Emily said looking over a case report skimming through it at the same time no longer interested in Reid as she tried to remember why she had come across that line of thought during their last case. Paperwork was one of the main downsides to doing work for the FBI.

Morgan made a noise of acknowledgement still watching Jj's office door as if he could see what was happening on the other side of the closed door. Finally he let out a sigh before heading back towards his own pile of case files and the hours of paperwork that would have to be completed by the end of today if he wanted any chance of a weekend off.

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"She said yes!" Reid exclaimed as soon as the door was closed behind him, shutting him in the office with one of his closest friends. "Well it wasn't really like I asked her properly, it was more of an agreement but anyway we dating!" Reid sighed happily as he dropped into one of the seats in front of Jj's desk.

"Who said yes to what Spence?" Jj asked dropping her pen on top of the case file she had been working on, interested in what her friend had to announce.

"Lacey, we're dating!" Reid said smiling at Jj across the desk

"That's great Spence! I'm so happy for you." Jj said smiling at her best friend. "When's your next date?"

"Tonight, what are you meant to do differently when you date?" Reid asked Jj looking slightly confused and a bit panicked, like he did when he though he hadn't prepared enough for a briefing.

"Not a lot different from what you've been doing now. She probably just wanted to make it official." Jj admitted to Reid, smiling at his general innocences in this aspect of live. "It usually just means that you tell close family, friends, even co-workers. Maybe even let them meet your girlfriend." Jj hinted heavily. Watching Spencer's face scrunch up as he though over what she was saying.

"You want to meet her?" Reid questioned, leaning back in his seat.

"Only if you both feel comfortable with it, but I think you should maybe tell Morgan, Emily and Garcia that you're dating her. They've been trying to work out who you've been spending all your time with." Jj said generally amused by her friends failed attempts to discover who Reid was dating.

"Okay, I'll talk to her tonight about it." Reid said as he stood up and head back towards his desk, giving Jj and awkward wave goodbye as he opened her door.

* * *

Morgan threw his pen down in disgust, checking his watch, as he finished another form about their last case. Deciding that he'd done enough work he got up to head to the kitchenette to grab his lunch from the fridge and to find his other colleagues who had disappeared from the bull pen about 10 minutes ago. Emily and Garcia were talking about shopping whilst Reid was fixing himself his fifth cup of coffee of the working day. Morgan dropped into a seat beside Garcia and pulled out his pre-prepared sandwich. He was halfway through chewing his first bite when Reid spoke up.

"I've got a girlfriend." Spencer announced then looked concerned at Morgan as he started trying to cough around his mouthful.

"O.M.G!" Garcia squealed at her friend's statement. "Is it Lacey? Please tell me it's Lacey and not that cougar!"

Spencer looked at Garcia slightly disturbed by her questions and general knowledge of Lacey, while she tried to smack Morgan on the back to help him breath.

"Yes, I'm dating Lacey, do I want to know how you know about her?" Spencer asked watching the technician closely, waiting for her to answer.

"It was just sitting there calling my name, I had to, it was basically abuse if I didn't!" Penelope babbled, trying to explain how she knew.

"Baby girl found your girlfriend's sim card," Morgan said, out of breath, finally managing to swallow his sandwich. "And that's my boy! Congratulations. When do we get to meet her?" Morgan asked putting aside his lunch in case Reid had any other shocking news he wanted to share.

"Soon?" Reid said looking unsure and nervous about the thought of introducing his girlfriend to his … _outgoing _- for lack of better words - friends.

"Only when you think you guys are ready." Emily butted in before Morgan or Garcia could say anything. "But we're all really happy for you Reid."

"Thanks guys." Spencer said before topping up his cup of coffee and heading back to work.

* * *

"What do you think of that new restaurant on the moon? …. The food's great but it has no atmosphere." Lacey said whilst trying not to laugh, "Oh common, it's a little funny." She said walking beside Spencer, heading towards a Chinese restaurant.

"Is it meant to be funny?" Spencer joked linking his hand with Lacey's and intertwining their fingers together.

"I'll have you know that was the joke that won me the kindergarten talent show mister." Lacey said lofty, flicking her head to push her fringe out of her eyes. "I had my classmates in tears with my terrible puns and punchlines. Connor Murray's rendition of 'frere Jacques' had nothing on me!"

Spencer was laughing when they entered the restaurant as Lacey continued to give examples of the material she used in her comedy routine.

"How about you, any hidden talents you have that you want to share?" Lacey said gazing over the menu as the waited to be seated.

"Nothing special, I can play a bit of piano but that's mainly because it's all mathematically based." Reid admitted as the followed the waitress to be seated.

"Nothing special? It sounds pretty impressive." Lacey pointed out sitting down and slide her jacket off whilst sitting down and unwrapping her scarf.

"I've only got the right hand melody," Spencer said following her lead and removed his jacket. "I haven't quite got the syncopation needed for both hands yet."

"Oh wait, I've got another joke for you," Lacey exclaimed after they both had decided what to order. How do astronauts serve dinner?"

"On flying saucers." Spencer deadpanned, still looking at his menu.

"Oh common, how did you know that one!" Lacey said throwing her hands up in mock frustration.

"It's a Christmas cracker classic." Spencer replied. "Do you want to hear a joke about existentialists?"

"Hit me with it." Lacey said, "It can't be as bad as that last one." Unaware of the carnage that was about to commence.

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**There we go! Please review and let me know if it was worth the wait _again_. Thanks for reading!**


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